Minato's Long Date
by tunaro
Summary: Minato thought the hard part would be to get her back into the mall. Man, was he wrong. MinatoxElizabeth. Updated version of the original story.
1. Breakfast

_New Author's Note: Just a heads up folks, if'n you already read my last fic, feel free to just head on straight to chapter 2, since this is mostly the the same thing._

_Authors Note: Alright people, here's a new story for y'all. My first official work for the Persona series, this story's actually a prequel for a sequel for a story I wrote about Persona 4, which I actually started working before this. Even though that means this is actually the last story in the series, I'm releasing it first because it serves as a good setup for the next story, which was the first I wrote, which acts as a setup for the one after that, which I actually wrote second. If you managed to keep up with that, good for you._

_Hope y'all enjoy my new story..._

* * *

_**\- - - Early Morning - - - **_

* * *

"So..."

"Elizabeth."

"Elizabeth, yes...How did the two of you meet?"

Elizabeth bit thoughtfully into her eighth piece of toast.

"Hmm, that is an interesting question."

_'God damn it, Junpei,'_ Minato sighed to himself.

It was supposed to be a simple plan: Get up early, get themselves cleaned up, burn the wooden spoon and get rid of the ashes, maybe get around to making them some coffee, but then definitely get Elizabeth the hell out of there before anyone else woke up.

To be fair, it had almost worked; but then Junpei _had_ to pick that exact moment to get back to the dorm. But even that wasn't a problem; after a brief exchange of looks and a pair of silent nods, the two boys passed each other without a second glance. What neither of them had counted on was that Mitsuru would've heard the front door opening and would be waiting at the top of the stairs...

And so now Minato had most of S.E.E.S. giving him an early morning interrogation over breakfast about the strange girl he'd brought to their dorm. He threw another dirty glance over to Junpei, who just shrugged and gave him a weak smile.

Mitsuru gazed sternly at the two as she continued to question the pair. Next to her, Yukari shifted from staring suspiciously at Elizabeth to staring angrily at Minato. Fuuka kept rushing back and forth from the table to the kitchen as she continued to serve up food, occasionally sneaking blushing glances at the pair. While she still couldn't handle more complex dishes, simple things like fried eggs and bacon were easy enough to manage, which was good because Elizabeth seemed to be inhaling everything as soon as it was set on the table.

Shrinking under the combination of guilt, fear, and shame he felt from the three, he couldn't help but feel that this was what it was like to stare down the barrel of a gun that wouldn't let him summon awesome monsters from inside his brain. He wasn't sure how three girls in their pajamas (well, two girls in their pajamas and one in a hastily thrown on bathrobe; who knew Fuuka slept in a nightie like _that?_) could make him feel so afraid, however he was sure to thank whatever god was paying attention that Aigis was away for maintenance.

God knows what would have happened if she'd been here...

Meanwhile, Akihiko and Junpei were sitting quietly at the end of the table opposite of Minato and Elizabeth. It was obvious that the two boys were trapped in this situation just as much as he was, but that didn't seem to stop them from staring at Elizabeth a little more than he was comfortable with, although she seemed to remain oblivious to their attention.

"I suppose the correct answer is that we were introduced," Elizabeth continued, "but I believe it would be more accurate to say that it was simply the nature of our fate that we should have met." She turned and smiled warmly at Minato, who smiled back a little in spite of the situation he was in.

"Your fate?!" Yukari cried out, startling Minato. Aside from some brief (but still very shrill) screaming when she first saw Elizabeth and quickly shooing Ken and Koromaru out of the dorm, she hadn't spoken a word since the morning began. Yukari's mind was abuzz. 'Their fate?' What the hell did that mean?! Did Minato have some super romantic encounter with this girl that she didn't know about? I mean, it's not like she cared who he dated or anything, but he still should have told her if he was going out with someone or...

Oblivious to Yukari's little internal freak out about how she really didn't care if Minato had a girlfriend or not, Mitsuru continued, "You said someone introduced you. Can you tell me about this person?"

"Oh, well, that would be my Mghm-" Elizabeth started to answer, but Minato quickly clamped his hand over her mouth. Bad enough that he had to explain Elizabeth, there was no way in Hell he was spending the whole morning telling them about the Velvet Room.

"He's a friend. Elizabeth works for a friend of mine and he introduced us," Minato answered quickly.

Elizabeth took his hand off of her mouth and smiled at him."You consider him a friend? He'll be delighted to hear that."

"I see." Mitsuru raised an eyebrow, clearly unimpressed with their answers. She decided to try a different route. "How long have two you known each other?"

"We first crossed paths several months ago back in April, one night before the full moon."

"The full moon?!" Mitsuru blinked in surprise as she, Yukari, and Akihiko all thought back to that night.

"Oh yeah, it was just before then, wasn't it?" Minato said as he recalled that night as well.

"Quite fortuitous, wouldn't you agree?" Elizabeth smirked. "Although I do regret having been unable to see you for so long after having just met."

"Huh? Oh yeah. Uh, sorry," Minato mumbled hastily in apology.

Unable to obtain any satisfying answers from her previous inquiries, Mitsuru finally asked the question that had been on everybody's mind since they first laid eyes on the girl.

"So, what exactly is the nature of your relationship?" Mitsuru asked at last.

Minato's throat when dry and he swallowed hard. He'd known this was coming but that didn't mean he was any more prepared for it. How the hell was he supposed to answer that?

"Well now, how do I answer that?" Elizabeth put a hand to her cheek and smiled demurely, thoroughly infuriating Yukari. The brunette girl threw Minato a gaze that clearly said _'What the hell is with that look on her face?!';_ Akihiko and Junpei did the same, although their faces were more impressed than pissed. Minato gulped again.

"When we first met, I was given the role of watching his growth and guiding him in the development of his abilities."

"Ah, I see. So you're his tutor then?" Mitsuru replied, pleased to finally get some concrete answers.

"Of a sort, but I haven't really taught him anything. Instead, I simply gave him certain objectives to fulfill, and asked only for proof once these goals had been met. ...In exchange for certain rewards, of course."

"R-rewards?" Yukari repeated.

"As time when by however, our relationship changed and our roles began to reverse, and I was able to learn much from him. Since then, we've shared several intimate encounters together."

"Intimate encounters?!" Yukari cried, aghast. She turned over to Minato who seemed to be staring down at the table intently, his face a brilliant scarlet. A clatter was heard from the kitchen and Junpei and Akihiko stared on in awe.

"Arisato, you...?" Akihiko asked, and the boy just blushed more deeply.

"He's taken me to many spots within the city, and he's shown me many of the delights that this world has to offer," Elizabeth continued, unknowingly burying herself and Minato that much deeper in the hole. "One of my particular favorites was our visit to Iwatodai Station. So many new tastes and flavors; such a delectable experience."

Minato stared at her. Thank God, she was talking about their dates. He sunk back into his chair and almost let out a laugh from sheer relief.

"Although I also enjoyed the trip we took to the arcade."

Minato smirked at the silver-haired girl, "Even though you suck at playing games."

"Are you implying that there is something wrong with the way I use my hands?" Elizabeth replied playfully. She leaned in closer and smiled deviously, "Or perhaps you are suggesting that I become more direct in what it is I desire-"

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?!" Yukari demanded, a small blush dusting her cheeks.

The pair looked over to the irate brunette, and then exchanged a brief look of embarrassment before shifting back into their seats.

Elizabeth put her hand in front of her mouth and let out a small cough, "Yes, well, anyway, I believe that our next excursion is to the cinema, yes?" She turned towards Minato, who nodded.

With that, the silver-haired girl seemed pleased and gave a small nod in satisfaction. "Excellent."

"Well then, if you've no more questions, I believe that it be best that I take my leave now," Elizabeth wiped her mouth with a napkin before setting it back onto her plate, then moved to get out of her seat.

"You're, um, not staying for dessert?" Fuuka offered nervously.

Elizabeth shook her head, "No, no. I wouldn't want to trouble you any more than I already have. "

"In any event, I believe that you will find yourself to be out of chocolate and cream. Unfortunately, I'm afraid that we might have used it all last night."

Minato's blood froze and he sat stock till.

Mitsuru shook her head, "Raiding the fridge again, Arisato?"

"..." Minato tried to come up with some kind of an excuse, but found himself unable to speak.

Fuuka dropped her tray, which let out another loud clatter as it hit the floor.

"Yamagishi, is something the matter?" Mitsuru asked, oblivious to the intimations of Elizabeth's statement as the younger girl turned red and hastily tried to pick up the silver platter. Yukari gaped at the boy in front of her as the jaws of the two boys next to her fell to the floor.

"Dude...Seriously?" Junpei asked, but the blue haired boy could only stare silently in shock at the silver-haired girl next to him.

"I would also like to apologize for the wooden spoon that we destroyed. Disposing of it seemed to be the most hygienic solution." Elizabeth continued, as both Minato and Yukari paled at her words.

"..."

Unable to come up with any other response, Junpei slowly held up his hand, which Akihiko clapped wordlessly.

Figuring that there was no possible way for this situation to become anymore awkward, embarrassing, or just plain horrible, the blue haired young man decided to go for broke and resigned himself to simply accept whatever else was going to happen.

Minato turned to look up at the girl.

"I'll see you after school?"

Elizabeth smiled, then leaned down to peck him on the cheek.

"Until then, Master Minato." She spoke softly into his ear.

The boy closed his eyes and smiled. "That will be all, Elizabeth," he dismissed, feigining an authorative tone which caused the silver-haired girl to giggle.

"Hee, hee...Very well, Master," she answered back dutifully, then turned back towards the dumbstruck S.E.E.S. and gave a small bow. "It was very nice to meet you all," she added, before spinning around and making her way to the entrance.

Everyone watched the strange girl walk out the dorm, and as the door softly swung back into place, she seemed to leave as suddenly as she had appeared. They turned their attention back towards the smiling boy still staring at the door. Feeling everyone's eyes on him, Minato turned back around and his grin fell when he remembered where he was.

_'Ah shit, that's right. This was still happening...'_

Minutes of awkward silence, then Junpei finally couldn't help but ask, "...She calls you 'Master?'"

"Uh..." He started to reply, but was interrupted when Yukari slammed her hands on the table, causing the silverware to clatter. For a second, Minato was sure she was going to throttle him and mentally prepared himself for a beating.

Trembling slightly, Yukari opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out. She opened and closed her mouths a couple more times in frustration as she tried to say something, then with a final look at her blue haired teammate, simply got up from her seat and stalked up the stairs, still angrily trying to vocalize her thoughts.

Mitsuru's eyes narrowed and she glared at him coldly. "Well, _'Master'_ Arisato, this was... informative. I believe that we'll need to have a discussion later about bringing guests to the dorm," she stated calmly, before turning around and stepping up the stairs, too, leaving Fuuka alone by herself. The three boys stared at her, half-expecting a similar response to the other two.

"Um, uh," the poor girl withered underneath their gaze, then slammed the tray onto the table, causing them to jump in their seats before rushing up after the other two.

Finally, Akihiko let out a sigh of relief and exhaustion, then turned to his two juniors.

"You two better get out of here before they get done changing."

And with that, he got up and walked up the stairs as well.

"So...she calls you 'Master,' huh?" Junpei asked again once they were alone, this time with a knowing grin directed at his friend.

"Shut up," Minato simply replied, grabbing a surviving piece of toast before getting up and heading for the door.

"Hey man, it's cool," Junpei continued as he bounded after his friend, "I ain't judgin'; I just never pegged you as the kind of guy who was into that kinda stuff."

"Whatever," Minato sighed. "Could you just do me a favor and not tell Kenji about this. Or Kaz. Or Hidetoshi. Or Chihiro, or Yuko..." He trailed off as he realized how many of his friends, and maybe the whole school, were probably going to know about this by the end of the day.

"What makes you think I'd do that?" Junpei retorted, slightly hurt that his friend would think of him like that. He shook his head disappointedly, "Look, I only told Mitsuru-senpai because she caught me. You saw what she was like; I had to tell her something."

Minato raised an eyebrow, "So I guess you also told her about how you've been sneaking out and _'visiting'_ Chidori in the hospital?"

Junpei's face flashed a hot pink, "What? No, of course not!"

"Huh," the blue haired boy replied plainly as he reached the door, "I guess I'll have to mention it when she lectures me later."

"What?" Junpei responded again, "No! Dude, come on, those visits are really helping her feel better."

"I'll bet they are," Minato answered back, causing his friend to blush again.

"Hey, it's not lik-" Junpei stopped himself before giving a pleading look to Minato, who was already walking outside.

"Hey! Come on! Dude! Minato?! ...Dude?" He stood alone at the open doorway, watching helplessly as he walked down the street.

Junpei's shoulders slumped and he let out a low groan.

"Aw, man..."

_F̶i̶n̶ __Ha ha, nope. New chapter folks! Go and check out the shiny, new chapter 2!_

* * *

_Author's Endnote: Happy Valentine's, people. A little rushed, but I think it turned out okay. As always though, thanks for reading and keep a look out for my next post. See ya~!_


	2. Escape From Class 2-F

_Author's note: Hey guys, check it out: I'm not dead!_

_In case anyone cares, long story short, thanks to copious amounts of tequila and a stolen jeep, my old hard drive (with all my old stories and notes) is very likely to be at the bottom of the other end of the Pacific Ocean by now. I may or may not ever be allowed to enter the Hong Kong International Airport again; I'm not entirely sure._

_Don't ask._

_Which means that I would've had to write all my stuff again from scratch. Bleh._

_Anyways, decided to expand on this story and make it a multi-parter. I also decided to keep the original version as is for anyone not interested in having it continued. _

_Enjoy the chapter, folks._

* * *

**_\- - - Early Morning _****_\- - - After School - - -_**

* * *

"Are you forgetting we have clean-up duty, today?" Yukari asked, roughly shoving a plastic broom into the blue haired boy's arms.

"Huh?" Minato blinked, a bit surprised to hear Yukari speaking to him. After the morning's disaster with Elizabeth, the brunette hadn't spoken a single word to him or even bothered to look in his general direction outside of one or two _very _dirty looks. With Aigis still gone, the day had been, if nothing else, fairly quiet as a result. Next to them, Junpei was trying to catch up on some much needed sleep at his desk.

"Oh crap, that's right. Hey, Junpei, can you cover for me?" he asked, turning around and lightly tapping his friend on the shoulder.

"Huh? Why?" Junpei asked back, a little annoyed to have had his post-class nap interrupted.

Minato rubbed the back of his head nervously.

"Well, I have plans with Eli-uh, someone," Minato said, quickly changing his choice in words when he noticed the glare that had crossed Yukari's face.

"O~ho! Got yourself a da~te hu~uh?" Junpei chuckled slyly, lifting his cap to look at Minato out of the corner of his eye.

"Uh, yeah…" Minato couldn't turn to face the two, but managed a small nod.

'Hmph, whatever,' Yukari huffed to herself. 'Junpei'd never agree to this,' she smiled viciously, 'He's way too lazy...'

Junpei gave his friend a warm smile, "Sure, no prob."

"EH?!" Yukari cried. What the hell? Since when did Junpei agree to do anybody else's work?

"Thanks, man," Minato nodded, patting his friend on the back before he started to head for the hallway.

Junpei waved him off, "Anytime, dude. Still owe you for this mornin', anyway, right?"

Minato didn't say anything and kept heading for the door, but gave a small smirk.

Just as he was almost out the door, though, Junpei grinned and put a hand to his face.

"Just remember to use protection~!" He called out cheerfully, just loud enough for the entire room to hear.

Minato lurched and whipped around in horror to see Junpei still grinning cheekily. The rest of the class was staring at him in shock, except Kenji who was...smiling and giving him a thumbs up. Because of course he was. Minato froze awkwardly for a second, then quickly backed out the door and hurried down the hallway as fast as he could. He made a mental note to make Junpei pay for this later, however, on top of what he was owed for this morning.

'Totally worth it,' Junpei thought to himself with a look of proud satisfaction.

In the wake of the blue haired boy's abrupt exit, the classroom burst into clamor as discussions over the transfer student's relationship status sprung up. In the wake of all the commotion, Kazushi and Kenji made their way over to Junpei's desk to get some info right from the source.

"What's up with Minato?" Kaz asked.

"God you're dense," Kenji groaned. He gave Junpei a knowing grin, "It's a girl right. He finally get himself a date with someone?"

Junpei chuckled, "Better than that, Kenji, buddy. It looks like our boy's finally left the nest and found himself a nice little chica of his own."

He sniffed and wiped a nonexistent tear from his eye dramatically, "I'm so proud."

"Huh, so he's gotten a little ahead of me," Kenji let out a small sigh, then gave a slightly bitter grin. "Not bad, man."

"So what's she like?" Kenji asked.

"Hmm," Junpei put a hand to his chin in a thoughtful pose and paused for a second before answering, "Kinda weird…But cute. Like, seriously one of the hottest girls you'll ever see-"

_WHAP! _

The young man was brought down from his revelry when Yukari smacked him hard across the back of his head, sending him slamming onto his desk with a loud thud. "AH! Damn it, Yuka-tan! What the hell was that for?!"

"I-I should be asking you the same thing!" Yukari growled, her face a lucid scarlet. "W-what do you mean 'protection,' jackass?!"

Junpei grabbed at his throbbing head and winced. "What? You'd rather he didn't use anything?"

"That's pretty irresponsible of ya, Yuka-tan," he chided, enjoying the new shade of red his friend was turning. "A good girl like you should know better than that."

"T-t-that's not what I meant! Don't make it sound like Minato's going to-! Going to..." She trailed off, unable to bring herself to finish that sentence, awkwardly pushing the tips of her index fingers together in a futile effort to fight off her embarrassment.

Junpei shrugged, "What? You saw how those two were together. They woulda been all over each other if we weren't there. Hell, I'd be surprised if they actually were going to the movies, 'stead of just going straight over to a room in Shirakawa."

Kaz's eyes widened, "Whoa, seriously?"

"Man, so he's gotten way ahead of me," Kenji sighed.

Yukari's jaw fell, and she stood there frozen in horror. N-no way. Minato w-wasn't that kind of guy…right? But that girl really seemed like the aggressive type, the way she was acting in front of him. Skank. And Minato didn't really look like he minded much. B-but those two were just going to the movies. Right? Yeah, totally, of course they were. But maybe they really were-

Junpei took no notice as his friend's mind was once again close to experiencing a total meltdown and continued on with his musing.

"Not that I can blame him. That girl's not exactly my type, but I gotta admit she's pretty ho-Hey! What's going on?" Yukari grabbed Junpei by the collar and started to drag him towards the door.

"We're going after him," she muttered darkly.

"B-but what about cleaning up?!" Junpei protested weakly.

"Handle it." Yukari hissed, sending a cold chill down Junpei's spine.

"Kenji! Kaz! You got this?"

"Uh, sure..." Kenji called back. He wanted to refuse, but seeing what was happening to Junpei, it was easier to just go along with it, lest he also fall victim to Yukari's wrath. Picking up the broom from Minato's desk he watched the incensed brunette stomp out of the classroom, Junpei still behind her as he was forced down the stairs to the next floor.

Kenji turned to Kaz and asked, "Wanna go after them?"

"Uh, shouldn't we clean up?"

"Meh, screw that," Kenji shrugged, casually tossing the broom aside. "This sounds too good to pass up."

"I-I guess..." Kazushi admitted, following Kenji to the door.

"And just where do you think you two are going?" Ms. Toriumi stood in front of them, arms crossed firmly in front of her.

"...To watch a show?" Kenji offered.

"Cute." The composition teacher looked unimpressed.

Kenji shrugged, "I try."

"Unfortunately, you two still have some cleaning to do."

"B-but those guys got to leave!" Kenji argued.

Ms. Toriumi nodded, "Yes, by passing the job onto you."

"So we can leave if we get someone else to do it?"

"Yes-"

"Sweet, then-"

"However, everyone else is preoccupied right now. So get to work. In any event, Mr. Arisato's love life is hardly any of your concern."

"B-but then why do Junpei and Yukari get to go?" Kenji asked.

Ms. Toriumi let out a huff like the answer was obvious, then plainly said, "Well, as his dorm mates, I imagine that it's in their best interests that his actions not end up disturbing them at night. You two commute from home, so you may not know, but the walls in dormitories can be rather thin."

"..."

At this, Kaz and Kenji could only gape at the woman that the school and their parents saw fit to watch over them every day.

"Leave this to me," Kenji whispered, leaning over to Kaz, "I know how to deal with older chicks. We'll be outta here in five minutes."

Before Kazushi could reply and explain to the other boy that, realistically, Kenji knew next to nothing about dealing with girls of _any_ age, least of all older ones, he'd already started walking up to her and thrown his arms out.

Kenji grinned, "Ms. Toriumi! Have I ever told you how much I admire intelligent women..."

* * *

_Four and a half minutes later..._

* * *

"...You know," Kazushi started, "I have to admit I'm actually a little impressed..."

"Shut up, Kaz."

"No, really. I never thought anybody would have ever just walked up and said _all of that_ to a teacher, least of all Toriumi."

"Shut. Up. Kaz."

"I mean she _slapped you! _Actually slapped you! Like, right across your face! I still can't believe it!" Kazushi continued, real admiration in his voice. "That almost makes it worth this."

"Damn it, Kaz! Just shut the hell up and get to work!" Kenji snapped, ignoring the sting coming from the large, red welt that was now on the side of his face. "The sooner we finish, the sooner we can catch up to those three!"

The two boys were currently in the middle of the hall outside their classroom. Following Kenji's catastrophic attempt to flirt their way out of cleaning, Ms. Toriumi had decided that since they were covering for three other people, as well, it only made sense that they should have to do five people's share of work.

As such, in addition to cleaning the classroom they were now cleaning the hallway, the PA room, and the 2-E classroom as well. Of course, since this was way too much work for a few brooms, they would be able to do a much more thorough job if they were to scrub down everything by hand. So now the two boys were currently hunched down on their knees in the hall outside their classroom, scrubbing down the tiled floor with the two small brushes and the dingy bucket of dirty soap water Ms. Toriumi had so graciously provided them.

"How much do we still have to clean?" Kenji asked, already knowing it wasn't going to be a good answer.

"Well, with the tile you're cleaning now, and the one I'm cleaning now… All of it," Kaz said, looking down the rest of the large, thankfully already empty hallway they still had left.

Kenji sighed. This was going to be a long afternoon.

* * *

_Author's endnote: I'll be honest, I had Yukari melt down again only because the mental image of her calling Elizabeth a skank was something I could not pass up. I'm petty like that, I know. _

_Onwards to Chapter 3!_


	3. Let's All Go to the Movies!

_Author's note: Forgot to do this part the last couple chapters, but I don't own Persona 3, the Persona series, or Atlus. But y'all probably guessed that._

* * *

While making his way past the shops of Paulownia Mall, Minato couldn't help but wonder for the umpteenth time that year what exactly the point of the back alley of the mall was before it hosted the Velvet Room.

Going down the stairs, he could clearly see that the area was fairly spacious, but aside from two potted plants in either corner at the end, it was completely empty. It wasn't like anybody else could see the large, slightly ominous, glowing door frame smack in the middle of the path, and even if they could there was no way to enter without permission, so there had to be a purpose for this place besides that. Reaching into his pocket to pull out the key, the blue haired young man shrugged off his thoughts, deciding it was enough that the place served a purpose for him, at least, and stepped through the door.

"Welcome to the Velvet Room, Master Minato. How may I help you today?" Elizabeth greeted casually, ever the picture of carefree professionalism as she stood dutifully next to her master in the middle of the elevator, the Persona Compendium in hand in case it was needed.

"We're going to the movies, right?" Minato asked, trying his best to suppress a smirk.

"Ah…" At once, Elizabeth's cool façade melted into the much warmer, much more real smile he'd gotten to know so well over the past few months. "I've been expecting you. Shall we be on our way?"

Setting the Compendium on the table nearby, Elizabeth paused and turned around to give a dutiful bow to Igor, "Master, I will be stepping out now."

The long nosed proprietor of the room nodded, his customary grin not budging an inch, "Very well. Elizabeth, see that you take good care of our guest."

"Oh I assure you, Master, I will do all I can to satisfy him," A hint of a smirk crossed the attendant's smile as she looked to Minato, who gulped in response. He could feel his face grow hot as she walked over to him.

"Igor," Minato managed to recover a bit of composure and turned his head to give a final nod to the seated man. He wasn't sure how much Igor was aware of about his and Elizabeth's… well, if he wasn't going to ask, it was probably better just not to say anything. With that, Minato turned around and exited the room, quietly taking Elizabeth's hand in his own as they walked out the door.

When the two had gone, leaving him alone in the sparsely furnished elevator, Igor picked up a deck of cards off of the table.

"Heh, heh," He chuckled to himself, shuffling the cards in his hands, occasionally drawing one at random and tossing it back onto the table. "It seems that my servant and my latest guest have chosen a most interesting path for themselves. Hmm, I wonder where it will take them?"

* * *

The movie playing that the two were watching was _Full Court Press_, a sports romance adapted from a popular manga. A down on his luck delinquent joined his high school's basketball team in the hopes of winning the heart of its cute manager. Joining him along the way was a ragtag crew of boys trying their damnedest to become the nation's best team in a story of a youth filled with action, heartache, and bitter tears.

Thus, even though it was a weekday, the series' large fanbase and wide audience appeal ensured that Port Island Station's small theater was full of people out to see a showing.

"Given the number of people in this theater, I believe that those seats would provide us the best available vantage point for the film," Elizabeth told Minato, pointing at a section of free space near the top row of seats. Or rather, she gestured at the seats with what could only be described as a frankly ridiculously sized tub of popcorn.

Given Elizabeth's behavior on their previous outings, Minato had fully expected for her to explore in her own… _special_ way as soon as they arrived. And he was right; no sooner had they stepped foot in the theater did Elizabeth start running around like a little kid, dashing from poster to poster, getting into debates with _actual _little kids over what a good movie was, and just straight up pointing at the theater employees for minutes at a time while Minato was in line for tickets.

However, expecting this, Minato already had a prepared countermeasure by appealing to the only thing greater than the attendant's boundless curiosity: the bottomless abyss she referred to as her stomach.

As it so happened, the theater was running a special promotion tie-in with the movie. A 6 liter bucket of popcorn was being offered as a challenge; simply finish it within the span of the movie and be reimbursed for the cost of the snack and your party's tickets.

Although up to a group of six could work together, Minato was sure that between him and Elizabeth the popcorn would be all gone before the second act. Although he felt somewhat guilty about the whole thing, it had still taken a considerable amount of willpower to suppress a grin when he saw the vendor's face after he accepted the challenge.

With the silver haired girl properly calmed under the sway of delicious salty snack foods, they had made it into the theater just in time, it seemed. The opening credits started to roll and the lights dimmed as they settled into their seats, though not quick enough for Minato to miss some people in the next row down starting to do a lot more than watching the movie. In fact, the theater's reputation as a date spot was apparently not unfounded as it seemed like every couple there had no interest in the movie at all. The bluenette hoped that it had escaped Elizabeth's notice, but no such luck as the girl scooted closer to whisper to him.

"I see!" Elizabeth exclaimed just loud enough for only Minato to hear, placing a hand over her mouth. "So this establishment provides lovers with the pretense of viewing films as a cover so that they may commit brazen acts with one another under the cover of darkness. How scandalous!"

Grateful that nobody else in the theater had heard her, Minato turned to Elizabeth, trying to come up with a rebuttal. She wasn't wrong… kind of.

"My, could it be that you have truly brought me here simply for that reason?" Elizabeth asked, turning over with a devilish grin and throwing Minato a sly look.

"N-no!" The bluenette denied quickly.

"Oh. I see..," Elizabeth replied, looking a little disappointed. She leaned back into her seat with a small pout.

Minato also felt a twinge of regret, but was more relieved to feel the sudden spike in his heart rate drop.

"...Then I suppose that I will simply have to take advantage of this opportunity myself," Elizabeth nodded to herself.

"Hu-Umf!?" Minato was cut off as Elizabeth suddenly rushed forward and pressed her lips firmly against his own. A warm, soft feeling flowed through him as she wrapped her arms around him and the dim theater faded further into darkness.

* * *

_95 minutes later…_

* * *

Minato came of the theater slightly dazed, happily being led along by Elizabeth, who walked forward through the crowd with a firm grip on his hand. He couldn't _quite_ recall how the movie ended, or started, or what happened in the middle, really, and somehow all their popcorn had disappeared, but he really couldn't care less at that moment. The pair walked over to some posters of upcoming films hanging on the wall and Elizabeth let go of his hand.

"Please wait here, Master," Elizabeth said, planting the boy next to a frame advertising a horror film, "I must go power my nose."

"Power?" Minato asked.

"Oh, were you unaware? Traditionally, when on an outing, a young lady may find solace in a restroom, allowing her to build up confidence and the fortitude to carry on."

'_You make it sound like a war,'_ Minato thought. But again, she wasn't exactly wrong…sort of.

"Though what one's nose has to do with this is something I am curious to discover for myself," As Elizabeth turned to leave, still puzzling over how one's face could influence their strength, Minato caught her wrist and pulled her back towards him.

"Uh before you go; while we're out can you not call me, uh, _tha_t?" Minato asked in a low voice.

"Call you what, Master?" Elizabeth asked innocently.

"T-that! Please don't call me 'Master' right now, all right?" the young man pleaded in a hushed tone.

"Hmm?"

"W-well when we're at the dorm or when it's just us is fine, otherwise…" The boy trailed off and rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

"Oh? I was under the impression that you quite enjoyed it when I refer to you as 'Master,'" Elizabeth cocked her head quizzically. A few people passing by gave the pair an odd look but hurried along when Minato caught them staring.

The bluenette immediately turned red and quickly said, "Y-you can just say 'Minato.'"

"Oh no," Elizabeth shook her head. "It would be quite improper of me if I were to address you by name so carelessly."

Even through his embarrassment, Minato couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at this. _'Seriously, this is what gets her? We are so far beyond improper by now.'_

Minato gently put his hands on the silver haired girl's shoulder, "Just call me something else for now, okay?"

"Hm, I see," Elizabeth pondered this for a second.

"Very well then. Please wait here, Darling," Elizabeth suddenly said, nodding her head firmly.

"Huh?! D-darling?" Minato blushed. Okay, he wasn't expecting _that._

Elizabeth blushed a bit herself when she heard Minato repeat the word and gave a small smile. "I believe that word was used in the film."

"Is that not what one calls the one that they hold a certain affection for...Darling?" She moved in close and gave him a quick kiss before he could respond.

Minato blushed some more and didn't say anything, but did as he was told and stayed where he was as Elizabeth walked off to find the restroom.

* * *

A little ways away from the dazed boy, two people were making their way through the theater.

"C'mon, it's gonna start soon," The shorter girl said, trying to hurry the taller girl along.

"A-alright," the bespectacled girl replied, walking after her darker-skinned friend.

Yuko Nishiwaki, athlete and manager of the track team.

Chihiro Fushimi, the timid treasurer to the student council and a semi-covert Shoujo manga geek.

It was rare for these two's interests to overlap, but luckily a movie was being shown today that they could both enjoy together.

Gee, wonder which one it was.

"Oh, Minato!" Yuko cried, noticing the familiar blue haired boy staring off into space. Hearing his name, Minato turned to see the pair walking over to him.

"Hello Minato-san," the shyer girl greeted.

"Hey Yuko, Chihiro," Minato greeted, still a little out of it. "You two know each other?"

Yuko nodded, "I'm not really that great with filling out reports and stuff, so Chihiro's been helping me with the team's budget. I'm treating her to a movie today to pay her back."

"We're here to watch _Full Court Press_," Chihiro explained.

"Oh, me too," Minato said.

"Really? Have you already seen it? How was it? Did it suck? Cause if it sucks I want to know so I can watch something else." Yuko asked, apparently excited for the movie.

"Uh..." Minato swore silently to himself as he realized he might have actually said too much for once (quite possibly for the first time in his life.) He shrugged. "I don't know."

"Oh, so you haven't seen it yet? Well that's okay, I didn't want spoilers anyway. Yeah, it'll be way better to see it myself if I go in without an opinion about it," saying this, Yuko nodded to herself a few times.

All right, scratch that. She was _really_ excited for this movie.

"Um, M-minato-san, i-if you like we can watch the movie… t-t-together," Chihiro blushed and immediately added, "ah-all of us! The three of us, together! Right, Yuko?!"

"Uh, that's okay," Minato started. "Actually I just-"

"N-no it's alright," Yuko interrupted, her cheeks tinged slightly pink as she spoke. "I-if it's you then I don't mind-"

"Darling, I have returned."

Minato started at the voice as Elizabeth seemed to suddenly appear out of nowhere, walking up to the young man's side and seamlessly wrapping her arm around his.

"I was unable to discover how to properly utilize my nose, but I must say, the restroom proved a more difficult challenge than I imagined," Elizabeth said cheerily. "It is not very sporting to test your patron before they even enter, no?"

A little worried, Minato stopped and thought for a bit about what the elevator attendant could have meant by that for a second, then narrowed his eyes.

"Elizabeth…which one did you use?" he asked plainly.

"It's not my fault," the girl pouted. "I am wearing _blue. _Therefore, would it not make sense for me to enter the room marked by the _blue figure?"_

The blue-haired boy did his best to suppress a sigh, "The color of the signs isn't the important par-"

"Minato-san, who is this?" Chihiro asked with a polite smile. However, Minato couldn't help but notice the hollow, merciless look in her eyes and the menacing pressure of some dark aura slowly forming around her.

Although it was still murky, he could just make out the vague outline of a skull laughing at him.

"Hello," Elizabeth greeted, still not loosening the grip on his arm. "And who might you be?"

"So Minato, _you two know each other?_" Yuko asked, suddenly giving Minato a flat and for some reason very annoyed looking glare.

"Uh…

While Minato was figuring out just how to respond, a familiar voice spoke up.

"Yo, Miss Treasurer! What's up?" Kenji suddenly rushed over and placed himself directly in between Minato and Chihiro. "Weird to run into each other here."

"H-hey, Yuko. Uh, what's going on?" Following suit, Kaz appeared and walked in front of the club manager. Okay, seriously what was up with today? Was everyone Minato knew stalking him?

"Kaz? What are you doing?! Get out of the way!" Yuko demanded.

"Tomochika-san, please move as well," Chihiro said.

"Huh? What for?" Kenji asked.

With the two girls' view successfully blocked, Kaz and Kenji turned over to Minato.

Kenji gave a look that ordered_ 'Dude, go!' _

Minato's eyebrows shot up in surprise _'Kenji?'_

'_Hurry up!' _Kaz's sidelong glance agreed. _'I'm not sure how long I can keep this up.'_

_Kaz? What are you-_

Kenji flicked his head curtly towards the exit. _'There's no time! Get out of here!'_

Minato bowed his head slightly, '_Thanks, guys-'_

Suddenly, Kenji's eyes popped out.

_Wait! Minato!_

_What?_

_Dude, that's your girlfriend?!_

Minato backed up slightly, '_This really isn't the time for-'_

Kaz raised an eyebrow,_ 'Well, is she?_

_'...' _If there was any intent behind Minato's glance this time, Kenji couldn't see it.

Yes, even in a conversation without a single spoken word did Minato somehow manage to remain silent.

Unpleased with his blue-haired friend's exaggerated reticence, Kenji scowled lightly and stopped his interception attempt. Taking a step back from the bespectacled treasurer, the young man whipped around to face his blue haired buddy and the girl that was with him, throwing out his arms.

"Why, Minato, what a surprise seeing you here!" Kenji exclaimed, doing his best to sound surprised. It was a half-assed attempt if there ever was one and he knew it, but he tried. "What's up, man?"

Minato managed to force the barest smile, "Oh you know, just here to see a movie… What are you two doing here?"

"O-oh, you know, just here to see a movie…" Kenji said, trying to play off the question.

Minato raised an eyebrow, "Really? This movie. Together."

Kenji stopped for a few seconds then nodded hesitantly, "Ye-yeah. That's right."

A small mob of couples walked past the group into the theater for the next showing.

"..."

Minato turned to put an arm around Kenji's shoulder.

"Dude, uh, is there something you two might wanna tell me?" The bluenette asked in a low voice.

"And me?" Yuko asked, turning to Kaz.

"Whoa, what?" Kaz raised his hands up. "Hey, I'm just here 'cuz Kenji wanted me to go to the movies with him."

The two turned their attention back to Kenji.

"H-hey what's with those looks? Dude, I could do way better than Kaz- No, I mean-"

"Wait, what?! The hell is that supposed to mean?" Kaz asked indignantly.

"Oh God, Rio's just gonna _love_ hearing about this…" Yuko muttered. Not just older women, but now men too? The poor girl had seriously bad taste in guys.

Kenji frowned, "Eh? What does she gotta do with anything?"

The team manager put a hand to her head and sighed, "You're an idiot…"

"No arguments there," Kaz nodded.

"Oh!" Elizabeth suddenly exclaimed. She looked back and forth between Kaz and Kenji, her eyes shining excitedly, "Is this what they refer to as 'Boy's lo-"

"NO IT'S NOT!" Kenji and Kaz denied at once. The two boys quickly turned towards each other and flushed red before looking to the opposite direction.

'_How does she even know about that?' _Minato thought to himself, really hoping he wouldn't be asked to take her out to explore the subject more after today.

"Uh so Minato who's this?" Kenji asked quickly, pointing both index fingers over to Elizabeth.

The blue-haired boy glowered._ 'Kenji, I'm going to kill you.' _

Ignoring the death threat in his buddy's eyes, Kenji turned to size up the girl standing next to him. Hm, a bit shorter than Minato, silver hair (dyed?), has a weird thing for blue, and man, Junpei was right, this girl was _cute._

"Hiya," Kenji greeted with a toothy grin. "My name's Kenji. I don't suppose my buddy over there's said anything 'bout me?"

"Hello, my name is Elizabeth," the silver-haired girl greeted back. "And yes, I know very well of your relationship."

"You are all my Darling's companions, yes?" Elizabeth turned to the others and gave them a small bow. "Thank you for taking care of him in my stead until now."

Yuko's jaw hung agape and the air around Chihiro suddenly felt several degrees colder, the drop in temperature obscuring her eyes behind the fogging lenses of her glasses.

"It wasn't much," Kenji waved her off before turning to give Minato smirking wink. "He hasn't told us anything about it, but I think we can guess how _you_ know _Darling_ over there."

Minato flushed a dozen shades of red as he felt his tongue turn to lead.

Kenji leaned a bit closer to Elizabeth, "He hasn't said anything about you, though. Like say, if you had an older sister who happened to like younger guys?"

The silver haired girl smiled brightly, "Why as a matter of fact, yes, I do indeed have such a sibling."

"Wait, really?!" Kenji asked, his eyes shining excitedly.

"-But I'm afraid Margaret is unavailable at the moment. My apologies."

"Yeah… that figures," Kenji muttered, letting out a long sigh.

Minato blinked in surprise.

It wasn't that it was unusual that Elizabeth would even have a sister (Even though it was; did she have any more siblings? Wait, if she had siblings, did that mean she had parents? Was Igor her dad? Oh shit, was Igor her dad?!). It was just that she hadn't told him; he'd never asked her about anything like that.

He snuck a glance at the girl standing next to him, struck by how little he knew about her.

"As for how we know each other… Yes, it is as you have already guessed…" Elizabeth admitted slowly, her cheeks tinged pink. Minato gulped; this could be bad. "I am my Darling's faithful attendant, promised to always stand by his side."

"W-w-what the hell?!" Yuko stuttered, barely able to keep herself from trembling as Kaz and Kenji stared wide-eyed in sudden awe of Minato next to her. These two were still just high school students… right?

"As for why he hadn't spoken of me earlier," Elizabeth turned her head away shyly. "Well, I must admit that the nature of our relationship is somewhat… Inappropriate. I understand that it would be better to keep some of the finer details 'on the down low,' as it were..."

…Right?!

"Oh my, my, my, what am I saying?" The silver-haired girl put her hands to her now thoroughly rosy cheeks, although she smiled as she shook her head. "Oh dear, this is so embarrassing!"

'…_C-cute,' _the two boys felt something touch their hearts through their stupor while Yuko simply bit down and started grinding her back teeth.

Huh, that wasn't as bad as Minato expected. Once again, Elizabeth had completely _surpassed_ his expectations. The still flush faced young man turned his head, unable to look right at her.

"Oh my, Minato-san, this certainly won't do," Chihiro said, scaring the living crap out of her four classmates who had apparently forgotten she was even there. "Such things between students are entirely inappropriate and not allowed under the school code. You understand the repercussions for a student council member to violate the rules, don't you?"

The girl was smiling sweetly, but otherwise her face was completely impassive.

"So it is permitted if I am not a student?" Elizabeth asked. "Though I admit I'm flattered, I must confess that I am well beyond the need for such a status."

"Dude, nice!" Kenji quickly gave his buddy a sidelong thumbs up, to which Minato could only roll his eyes. At this point, there really wasn't much else he could do.

"I see," Chihiro said, slowly ratcheting her head towards the bluenette, "Minato-san, I think we need to have a discussion."

Kenji turned to Minato and patted him on the shoulder, "…Don't say I never did anything for you, dude."

Before Minato could ask, the brunette boy rushed behind Chihiro and slipped his hands under her arms, holding her back. Kaz did the same to Yuko, lifting the girl slightly into the air.

"Hey! Kaz what the hell do you think you're doing?!" Yuko yelled, kicking at the air in a futile attempt to escape. "If you don't put me down right now I swear to God I'm gonna kick your ass!"

Kazushi considered this for a second, then tightened his grip. His physical therapy was going well; he could probably outrun her if he really needed to.

"Well it was cool seeing you guys but I think we should get going you know?" Minato said quickly. He turned to Elizabeth, "Ready to go?"

The attendant nodded, but turned back to the four and said, "It was very nice to meet you all."

She looked to Kaz and Kenji, "And I hope that your date also goes well."

"IT'S NOT A DATE!" the two cried back together.

"Tomochika-san," Chihiro turned to look at Kenji out of the corner of her eye. "You do know that aiding and abetting is also something that one can be punished for? I advise you to let me go."

"S-sorry Miss Treasurer," Kenji said shakily, "but I really can't-"

"Tomochika-san, _let me go._"

Kenji loosened his grip and the girl started to walk slowly towards the couple in front of her.

Minato's eyes widened. "Oh shit. Run!"

He grabbed the Elizabeth's hand and the two hightailed it towards the exit, Chihiro still walking slowly after them.

Kaz turned to his friend. "Kenji! What the hell?!"

The brunette looked down, not even bothering to hide his shaking legs. "...I-I got scared."

Yuko and Kaz blinked.

"That was pathetic," Yuko quipped and Kaz nodded in agreement.

"Hey, you wanna try dealing with her?!" Kenji shot back defensively.

The three looked over to the girl as she headed serenely towards the exit, the large crowd of people quickly creating a generous breadth of space around her as she passed by, and they all shuddered.

"Still, I did manage to get away with some good stuff today," Kenji chuckled, taking out his cell phone and starting to scroll through some pictures of his blue haired friend in some _very_ compromising positions during the movie.

"EEYAAH?!" Yuko cried out in shock. She rushed over to Kenji and studied each new image intently.

"Ah, dude, you took pictures?" Kaz groaned.

Kenji simply shrugged, "You think anybody'd believe me if I didn't? Junpei's going to flip when he sees these!"

"Was I the only person in there who was actually _watching _the movie?"

"Yes," Kenji answered quickly, "now do you want to see these or not?"

Rolling his eyes, Kaz leaned over along with Yuko and took a closer look at the device's screen, "Huh, you know, these are some pretty decent photos for a cell phone."

"It's 'cause of this cover I bought for my phone," Kenji explained, flipping over his phone. "Check it out, its got a magnifier for the lens and it even helps with the backlighting."

"That's actually pretty coo-"

"Oh my, that certainly seems interesting."

"...!"

The three froze and turned around to see Chihiro standing behind them, still smiling pleasantly.

"W-w-w-wasn't she in front of us?" Yuko stammered.

"S-she already left the theater, too..." Kaz nodded, quietly trying to get as much distance as he could without attracting the scary bespectacled girl's attention.

"May I see that, Tomochika-san?"

"..."

"Tomochika-san, _may I see that?_" The serene smile on her face did not falter, but her eyes narrowed and became dangerously colder.

The three all started to back away slowly, then simply turned around and ran for their lives.

"I'm never going to get to see that movie, am I?" Yuko couldn't help but sigh as they made their escape.

"You're seriously worried about that now?" Kaz asked.

"Hey, you two already got to see it. I didn't even get to go into the theater yet!"

"Will you… Two… Focus?! Damn jocks," Kenji gasped for air behind them as he struggled to keep up with the bickering athletes.

Kazushi shrugged as he ran, "Eh, you didn't miss much. It kinda sucked."

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

* * *

_Author's Endnote: Not much to say here, really. Don't even know why I bothered to have an endnote. Uh… Damn this chapter was long, huh? Might be the longest thing I ever wrote… Huh… Um…Yeah._

_Chapter 4 ho!_


	4. Sundown, Showdown, Throwdown, Mahjong

_Author's note: And the fic goes on and on and on and on and!_

…

…_I should probably get some sleep._

* * *

"Grrr, where the hell are they?!"

Junpei tried to hold up his hands in a placating matter, "Chill, Yuka-tan. The movie just ended, give 'em a bit. I don't really think they'll be hard to spot."

Following his own advice, Junpei was seated comfortably on a bench a little bit away from the entrance to Screen Shot, taking in the afternoon sun. In front of him, Yukari paced back and forth scanning the crowd of exiting patrons on the lookout for Minato and that weird blue girl, occasionally letting slip a low growl.

The pink clad girl stopped in her tracks with a resounding foot to the ground and whipped around to face her goateed pseudo-accomplice.

"Who's not chill?!" Yukari demanded. "I'm chill. I'm super chill! WHO SAYS I'M NOT CHILL?!"

"…"

A few guys close by interested in approaching Yukari smoothly veered right and just kept on walking. Junpei leaned slowly away from the girl, getting ready to make a break for it if necessary.

"I-I'm just saying, I'm not the one who got us kicked out of the theater."

"W-whatever," Yukari retorted, trying to play it off. "It's not like I was really sneaking in-"

"-That's exactly what you were doing," Junpei pointed out.

The brunette ignored him, "- I was just, uh, just…"

"Ducking inta every theater to stalk our roommate?" The goateed young man finished for her, smirking.

Yukari face glowed bright red, "I-i wasn't stalking him! I was just, just you know-"

"No, no, let me guess," Junpei offered. "You were trying to keep him safe from the _e~v~i~l clutches _of the incredibly cute girl he's with. Good looking out for him, Yuka-tan; I'm sure the dude's gonna be so grateful for what you did for him."

Yukari raised a fist, "Stupei, I swear to God if you even think of saying-"

"Oh hey, look. There they are," Junpei swiftly pointed out to a familiar mop of blue hair speedily making its way through the crowds. Beneath that, Minato was weaving through the throng of people at top speed, pulling Elizabeth with him as he did so.

"Oh no, Yuka-tan, they're holding hands. How totally devious of her!" Junpei snickered.

"What the hell does she think she's doing?!" Yukari cried.

"I think she knows exactly what she's –whoa hey!"

Yukari grabbed onto Junpei's wrist and yanked him off of the bench, dragging him along into the crowd. "C'mon Stupei! They're getting away!"

* * *

Minato raced as fast as his legs could take him, determined to put as much distance between him and the theater as possible. He didn't stop until he reached the foot of the stairs leading to the train platform, squeezing his way past a last few people. He hunched over, hands on his knees, and let out a huge gasp of air, hoping the thick crowd around him would be enough cover to at least give him a few moments to breathe.

Elizabeth skipped up next to him and hummed cheerily, apparently not even the least bit winded.

"Oh my, this is quite exhilarating! What shall we do next?"

Minato took another deep breath, "Give me a second, hopefully we got away."

"A-RI-SA-TOOO!" A voice yelled out. The wave of people rippled as someone barreled their way towards their direction.

"…Or not. Come on, this way!" Grabbing Elizabeth's hand again, the pair ran up the stairs, throwing out a few hasty apologies to anyone they pushed aside as they went. Just when they were past the last step, Minato pulled Elizabeth aside to the left and the two ducked down behind the railing. He turned to the silver-haired girl put a finger to his lips as he felt someone rush past them towards the turnstiles.

A minute passed, then two. When he was reasonably sure that Chihiro was gone, he let out a sigh and turned to Elizabeth.

"So, want to go anywhere else?"

* * *

The pair made it to the gates just in time to see the latest train depart from the station, with no sign of Minato or the weird girl in sight.

Yukari stamped her foot, which did nothing to alleviate her annoyance, "Damn it, they could be going anywhere now!"

"Oo~hoh," Junpei chuckled beside her, "Maybe they really are headin' over to Shirakawa."

Yukari turned around and punched him in the stomach as hard as she could.

Junpei double over and clutched his abdomen. He groaned, "Ooof. Ok, I guess I kinda deserved that one."

"You're gonna deserve a whole lot more in a few minutes if you don't stop with the crap," Yukari said, keeping herself in a ready stance for another strike.

"Hff. All right," Junpei slowly set himself upright and put a hand to his chin thoughtfully, "Let's think this through logically."

The pink girl looked at him disbelievingly and scoffed, "Did _you_ really just suggest using logic to solve a problem?"

Junpei rolled his eyes, "Shut up. It's what? 5:00? 5:30? Where would Minato usually be right about now on any other day?"

The two thought this over for a minute, then turned to look at each other simultaneously.

"Duck Burger," they nodded together.

They made their way to the turnstile for the next train to Iwatodai. There was no mistake this time; between Minato's appetite and the bottomless pit that girl seemed to have this morning, they definitely had to be there. Really, where else would he be?

* * *

_Meanwhile, Definitely not at Duck Burger..._

* * *

_'Alright, I get. Never ask Elizabeth that again.'_

Probably the darkest, sketchiest part of town, and only a couple meters away from where they were hiding? Of course she'd want to go exploring there.

Minato's stomach growled, the memory of the popcorn long since faded into obscurity, and he sighed. Running for your life, it seems, really took a lot out of you, something he _probably_ should have remembered after all the months fighting Shadows. Well, it's not like he was thinking of eating while he fought them. Well mostly; the ones that looked like tables always made him think of picnics for some reason and the bull headed ones would occasionally bring up thoughts of what Shadow steaks would taste like.

Whatever; he wanted a burger.

He'd also really wanted to get that burger with Elizabeth, one of the few people that could keep up with, or even exceed, his appetite. You know, just do normal date stuff for once. Of course in retrospect this _was _the sort of thing that would be considered "normal" for a date with her. A bit of a depressing thought, but hey, it wasn't like they were ever boring.

But most of all? He really, _really_ wanted to get out of this place as quickly as possible. In the aftermath of escaping Chihiro's wrath, the two had found themselves wandering into the back part of Port Island Station. However, escaping with your life didn't mean jack shit if you were just gonna get jumped in an alley.

Wanting to put himself away from thinking too much about the shady, damp, pipe strewn corridor that the pair were walking through, Minato said, "So… You have a sister."

Elizabeth nodded, not breaking her stride, "Yes, Margaret."

"What's she like?"

The attendant tapped a finger to her lips thoughtfully then sighed, "She is what I believe you call a 'Wet Blanket,' quite stern and seemingly bent on thwarting attempt my every attempt on livening up the Velvet Room. I am afraid to admit that I will never quite understand her, or her bizarre vendetta towards levity. Why do you ask?"

Minato could only shrug.

She stopped walking and frowned, "I see. Could it be that you have developed an interest in her, an attendant other than myself?

"Huh? No," Minato said quickly. "I was just-"

Elizabeth turned away from him and covered her mouth with her hands dolefully, "Oh how cruel is this! That my sister so wickedly aspires to steal you away from me!"

Whipping around suddenly, she pointed a finger at him.

"But do not think that I shall just stand by and let her do as she pleases! Oh no."

Walking up to him, she grabbed Minato roughly by the collar and brought his face right up to hers, "You are _my_ guest and I shall endeavor to make sure that status remain to my last breath. _I _am your attendant, and I will not allow you to forget this, even for an instant." She leaned him in closer and smiled dangerously, "Are we clear, my Darling Minato?"

Minato gulped and nodded nervously, "Y-yes, Ma'am."

"Very good," Elizabeth's face brightened and she let him go.

"Aw, how sweet."

The pair turned towards the source of the voice and saw a small group of men had gathered in front of them while Elizabeth was, uh, soliloquizing. One of the young men, apparently their leader, stepped forward and sneered.

"Hello and welcome to Port Island Station's illustrious Back Alleys. I know this is sudden, but could ya do us a favor and hand over everything you've got?"

Elizabeth looked at the guys in front of them quizzically, while Minato simply couldn't decide whether to laugh at the crude attempt at menace or just to let out another sigh. He seemed to be doing that a lot more often today and it was starting to worry him.

The silver-haired girl turned to her companion, "I'm afraid I do not quite understand. What is happening right now?"

"I think these guys wanna fight you," Minato answered nonchalantly, rather unperturbed by the whole situation. Honestly, he was really still kind of focused on how hungry he was; was there anywhere nearby where he could grab something to eat?

"Oh my, really?!" Elizabeth started bouncing on her heels excitedly at the prospect, but slowed and looked down uncertainly, "Oh, but such a group against only myself is a tad unfair, is it not? I do not wish to hurt them…"

"Don't worry, I got it," Minato patted her head, then spun around and dialed a number into his phone.

"Hello? Yes, can I please get an ambulance; there's, uh…2, 4… There's 6 guys who've been really beat up," Minato turned to his head and looked back to count the punks before returning to his call, "I'm behind Port Island Station."

_"…"_

"Yes, in the Back Alleys."

_"…"_

"I'm on a date."

_"… …?"_

"Yes, _really._"

_"…"_

"Alright, thank you."

The group of would-be muggers mostly stared in confusion, but their leader scowled and charged forward.

"Bastard! You think you're funn-"

CRACK! SNAP! BOOM!

When Minato turned again, he wasn't particularly shocked to see the boys who were previously accosting the two of them sprawled across the pavement, each in various states of bruising and bleeding with a few of their knocked out teeth lying next to them, all very thoroughly unconscious. There was also a new crater in the ground that just happened to be suspiciously similar to one guy's face.

Elizabeth stood in the middle of the carnage, completely spotless, and let out a curt huff, "How rude, I go to the trouble of warming up and this lot suddenly decide to resign. This is terribly unsatisfying."

"Maybe next time," Minato said encouragingly, walking up to the moping girl.

"Is that an offer?" She took his hands and looked up at him coyly, "It has been far too long since our last bout, after all. And there are so few that can push me as far towards the edge as you can."

"We'll see," Minato said.

Elizabeth giggled, "I will hold you to that."

"What the hell do you two think you're doing?!"

* * *

"Stupid, little… blue-haired bastard… Who the hell does she think she is? …Grr"

'_11.'_

Junpei sat on a bench in front of Octopia, a piping hot order of takoyaki steaming beside him. Skewering one, he held it up to his face and turned it around in his fingers, casually examining it before tossing the dumpling into his mouth. He savored the taste for several long seconds before turning back to the paper tray to repeat the process all over again. After a few more minutes and two more of the octopus (?) balls, Yukari passed by him again finishing another lap around the cluster of stores.

'_And that makes 12.'_

"They're not here!" Yukari declared, still looking around for any sign of the blue couple.

"Looks like it," Junpei nodded, popping another takoyaki into his mouth.

"Damn it, they were supposed to be here by now."

He shrugged, "'Fraid not, Yuka-tan."

"You could be helping you know!" Yukari snapped.

"Hey, I helped!" Junpei protested. "I checked out Book On, remember?"

"You weren't looking for them; you just wanted to buy manga!" the pink girl retorted.

"I can do both at the same time!" Junpei pulled the plastic bag at this feet closer and start rifling through his purchases. Recognizing one of the covers, Yukari raised an eyebrow.

"_Darkness Lolita MagiGoth_? Jeez, seriously?"

Junpei flinched and laughed nervously, "Well, uh, you know, the artwork's good and the pacing and story and, uh, stuff is, um, really… Avant-garde-y, yeah?"

Yukari crossed her arms, "Uh-_huh. _So… been visiting the hospital a lot lately?"

He rubbed the back of his neck, "Eheh, gotta make sure I'm in top shape to go fight all those Shadows, right?"

She stared at him for a solid minute before turning around and letting out a huff, "Whatever, thanks to you we've wasted too much time here. Who knows what those two could be up to right now?"

"Hey, just 'cause your love life's shot doesn't mean you get to take the blame out on me."

The brunette whipped around and stared at him murderously, "What was THAT?!"

"I said that we should take a look in the shop down the street," Junpei replied, nonchalantly flipping through one of his newly purchased books. In the back of his mind, he vaguely wondered if he still had enough money on his train card to get back to the dorm, but shrugged it off. Yuka-tan could probably cover him.

"Hmm," Yukari glared at him, then stomped away to follow his advice.

Realizing he was out of food, Junpei set his book aside and walked up to the counter of Octopia. "Yo, can I get another order of takoyaki?"

"DAMN IT!" Junpei jumped a bit when he heard Yukari cry out in supreme frustration. "Where the hell could they be?!"

The lady working the food stand didn't bother to look up from her cooking, "Better make it two. She sounds mad."

Junpei sighed and started to fish out his wallet, "Good idea…"

* * *

_Meanwhile, Back at Port Island Station..._

* * *

"Oh, I believe it's my win," Elizabeth said cheerfully, tossing down another Mahjong tile onto the table. "Again."

The other players swept aside own their tiles in disgust as bitter tears streamed harshly down their faces, now stripped of nearly everything except the clothes on their backs, which they were quickly on the way to losing as well.

"I should have you expelled just for being here," Isako muttered, tossing her hand back in the mound of tiles waiting to be reshuffled. Damn it, she needed that money for a new graphics card. "Necessary systems update" her ass; the game devs were totally in league with the hardware companies! How dare they force their own players to resort to something like this just to get to the new level cap!

"I am not your student." Elizabeth replied, pushing her own hand into the growing mass of porcelain game pieces at the center of the table.

"And was it not you who brought us to this establishment in the first place?" This comment earned the language teacher her own glares from the other now-slightly destitute players at the table.

"Hmph," Isako huffed, turning her attention to shoot Minato an irritated look.

The blue-haired young man shrunk his head back a bit and decided to count his blessings on this one. There were worse things that could have happened after your teacher caught you together with a girl. Holding hands. In the shady part of town. Surrounded by unconscious, beaten bodies. Yeah, this could have gone _way_ worse.

Isako was about three minutes into lecturing the both of them when someone called out to remind her that she was late for her game. Caught between her responsibility as a teacher to look after her students and her desire to s̶u̶c̶k̶e̶r̶ play a̶ ̶f̶e̶w̶ ̶r̶u̶b̶e̶s̶ some fine people for a̶l̶l̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶i̶r̶ ̶c̶a̶s̶h̶ a little spending money, she dragged the pair with her into the parlor. Thankfully, the place was open to anyone and (for the Back Alleys at least) fairly reputable, so she could sit them down somewhere without having to worry about them getting into too much trouble.

It had not taken long for the game to garner Elizabeth's and she began flitting around the table with an onslaught of questions. Minato somehow managed to sit her down and was halfway through attempting to parrot what he'd heard from Maya before Toriumi threw up her hands and paced over to where they were sitting. Grabbing the younger girl by the wrist, she set her down in the seat next to her own.

The teacher schooled Elizabeth in the game, slowly guiding her through the rules and some basic strategies. At least, until she started winning. As it turned out, it needn't taken more than a few rounds for Elizabeth to pick up on how to properly play the game and begin utterly decimating the competition, taking the simple tactics Isako had taught her and weaving them into intricate gambits and pulling off damn near impossible hands left and right. Toriumi tenaciously fought back every round as well as she could, down to every cheap trick and underhanded ploy she had, but like everybody else that had been foolish enough to take on the unassailable elevator attendant was simply no match for her.

From the bar at the side of the room, the parlor's owner and Minato were now sharing a (non-alcoholic) drink as they watched Elizabeth send another round of unfortunate souls to the poorhouse.

The owner let out a low whistle, "Damn, kid. That's some girl you've got with you."

In the seat next to him, Minato smiled and lightly clinked the man's glass against his own. "Tell me about it."

Back at the table, Elizabeth clapped her hands together and giggled, "This game is quite fun! Shall we play another round?"

Isako glowered and quickly started rebuilding the wall of tiles, "You're damn straight we're going again!"

* * *

_**\- - - After School - - - Evening - - -**_

* * *

Junpei and Yukari were reluctantly making their way back home after having to admit defeat in their search, having run out of places in town to search and more importantly, having run out of money to keep going around. They had just managed to scrounge up the cash needed for two train tickets home, and were now making a silent trek back to be dorm.

Although truthfully it was mostly Yukari who was weary and defeated; Junpei was more or less the same as ever. Hell, he'd even gotten some new manga, so it was a pretty good day as far as he was concerned.

Reaching the last step before the entrance to the dorm, Yukari let out one last exhausted sigh. She swung the door open, then lurched and just barely stopped herself from falling over. Behind her, Junpei looked over her shoulder to see what could have caused the girl to stall, then started to double over laughing.

"W-w-what the hell are you two doing here?!"

* * *

_Author's endnote: I got PQ and ended up with Elizabeth at the Date Café on the P3 side. I choose to believe that means the universe supports my ship._

_You reach the final chapter._

_Continue?_

_o -Yes-_

_-No-_


	5. Good Night, Bad Day

_Author's Note: Yaylastchapterlet'sgettoitthankssomuchforreadingsorrythisiskindalateIdon'townjackAtlusdoesgotaproblemgocomplaintothemwhooolastchaptergo!  
_

* * *

_*Where we last left off*_

"W-w-what the hell are you two doing here?!"

_*And now this*_

* * *

Minato blinked. "Uh...Reading ...a magazine?" he replied slowly, honestly very confused at the harsh greeting from the girl standing in the doorway. Where else was he supposed to be?

It evening now, a little after 11:00. The darkened night sky was shut behind the thick wooden entrance of the dorm as Yukari and Junpei quickly entered. In the main section of the dorm's lobby were seated all of S.E.E.S save Ken, along with Elizabeth.

Sitting at the far end of the couch was Minato. In the seat beside him, Elizabeth was laying on the rest of the couch curled up next to him, her arms wrapped in Minato's own and her head resting comfortably in the crook between his neck and shoulder. In her hands was rather large bag of candy, and she idly alternated between popping one of the brightly colored sweets into her mouth and feeding one to Minato, causing the two to share a playful smile each time as they lazily flicked through the magazine in Minato's hands.

It was such a cozy, peaceful scene that you could practically see the little pink hearts floating out from the two.

Opposite the pair were Mitsuru and Fuuka sitting on the other couch with uncomfortable expressions. Mitsuru had a sterner glare on her face than usual while Fuuka's face was buried behind her laptop so that only her eyes and the tips of her burning cheeks were showing above the screen, shifting glances between Elizabeth and Minato.

"What is _she_ doing here?!" Yukari practically screamed, waving her arm up and down as she pointed in the pair's direction.

"I am also currently 'reading a magazine,'" Elizabeth replied cheerfully, seemingly oblivious to Yukari's ire.

"I wasn't asking you!" Yukari cried.

"Takeba," Mitsuru cleared her throat and let out a light sigh. "We've discussed it, and I've decided that Arisato is allowed to entertain his...guest," the heiress grimaced and her tone made it clear that she had wanted to use a different word to describe the silver haired girl, "-as long as they behave themselves."

"Heehee," as if finding something funny with what Mitsuru said, Elizabeth giggled and scooted in even closer to Minato so that she was more or less sitting on his lap, the top of her head brushing against his chin.

Minato blushed darkly but made no effort to remove the girl.

Mitsuru's scowl deepened a bit but she said nothing.

Yukari on the other hand...

"HEY! Weren't you listening?!"

"I'm not doing anything wrong..." Elizabeth replied innocently.

"Grrr..."

_'Just keep reading, Akihiko...'_ the boxing champ thought to himself as he continued to sit quietly in his chair, looking a bit bored in his chair as he kept his eyes focused intently on the book in his hands. Honestly, he'd finished reading the thing at least half an hour ago, but felt getting up would draw unwanted attention from Mitsuru. At his feet, Koromaru lay sleeping, unaware of his caretakers' brewing drama. _'Don't get involved...'_

Grinning at the just beautiful prospects in front of him, Junpei popped a seat on the couch next to Fuuka, putting him in a front row seat for tonight's entertainment. It looked like he'd be getting to see a show, after all.

The door swung open again and Ken entered, letting out a tired sigh, relieved to be home.

"Hey, I'm back. Sorry I'm late," the young man greeted to his senior dorm mates and a new girl who – was she sitting on Minato-san?

"Go to your room, Amada," Mitsuru ordered, not taking her eyes off the pair sitting in front of her.

"What? What'd I do?!" the boy protested.

"Now!" Mitsuru turned her had this time and commanded again in a much more serious tone. Ken flinched backwards reflexively in fear, then did as he was told.

"Aw, man," Ken grumbled to himself as he trudged up the stairs. First he got kicked out of the house an hour and a half before school and now this? Man, today freakin' sucked. 'What the hell did I do? So not fair.'

Sensing the young boy's dejected sprits, Koromaru's ears perked up and he raced towards him, following Ken up the stairway and running around his legs as he walked up the stairs in an effort to cheer the boy up.

"Thanks, boy," Ken said, giving the dog a reassuring smile to which Koromaru barked happily.

Back on the first floor, Junpei gave the pair across him a wide smirk. "Well, well, you two look like you've made yourselves comfortable," Junpei said deviously.

"Oh, yes," Elizabeth shifted in her seat slightly, bringing the red back to Minato's cheeks. "I must say that I am rather pleasantly surprised. I was somewhat apprehensive that Master would make for a poor seat."

"Hey," Minato said a little put out, unsure if he was just insulted.

"Oh, hush," The attendant lightly flicked his nose before poking him in the forehead with her finger. "I said that I _was _apprehensive; as it is, I happen to be quite content with this arrangement."

"Having said that, Miss," Elizabeth turned to Yukari who was still by the doorway, "Would you not also like to have a seat? I imagine that it would be more preferable than to remain standing there."

"Yeah, Yuka-tan," Junpei agreed slipping the girl one of his usual cheeky grins. "Come on over and sit a spell."

"Hmph," Yukari let out a short huff and walked over to where the others were, taking a seat in the free chair opposite Akihiko.

"So what have you two crazy kids been up to?" Junpei asked, turning his attention to the pair across from him.

Minato shrugged as best he could in his position, careful not to jostle Elizabeth, "Not much."

"Master was currently showing me an article in this periodical: 'Port Island's Hundred Hottest Have to See Hangouts,'" Elizabeth explained. "It's truly wonderful that this city would have such a superb collection of sites simply to entertain its inhabitants."

"Yes, it is," Mitsuru nodded with a not small amount of pride on her face. "This city was carefully designed so that the satisfaction of its inhabitants would be ensured. Although, you don't seem to be familiar with the area; did you just move to here recently?"

"No, I have been situated in my current location for quite some time now," Elizabeth replied, a thoughtful look crossing her face.

"It is simply that I have never had cause to explore the outside world as I have now. Although I was always somewhat curious, until recently, I had no other desire than to simply fulfill the duties which I had been given. It was not until I met Master Minato that I was able to be allowed to experience such things for the first time."

"I see," Mitsuru frowned and gave her a sympathetic look. "I think I can understand what that can be like. I'm sorry for bringing it up."

Elizabeth shook her head, "No, it's quite alright. Although, in truth, I have experienced a great many wonderful things for the first time since meeting Master Minato…" she trailed off with a slight smile, bringing a hand to her mouth, covering the slight color to her cheeks.

"Oh really?" Yukari turned to Minato, giving him a mirthless grin. "What kind of _'wonderful things'_ could she talking about? _Minato?_"

"Hmm, I wonder…" Elizabeth murmured breezily, more to herself than Yukari. The brunette's face fell into a stony grimace.

"I can't say for certain whether they were good experiences or bad ones, but I remember them all fondly and I treasure each one," Elizabeth continued, turning around slightly so that she could face Minato.

"…Yeah, me too," the blue-haired boy admitted softly, smiling softly. Elizabeth returned the smile in kind and moved closer towards him, inching her face closer to his until-

"Ahem," Mitsuru cleared her throat abruptly. Next to her, Fuuka's whole head had lit up to a glowing red and Yukari looked ready to throw something. Even Akihiko had dropped his pretense of reading, lowering the book in his hands to get a better look. Junpei watched all of this and sincerely regretted not getting any snacks from the kitchen when he'd had the chance.

"Arisato, it's getting late. Don't you think it's time for your guest to leave?"

Minato blinked and shifted his gaze from Elizabeth to Mitsuru and back a few times before answering "…Um, can you give me five more minutes?"

The senior frowned and shot him a stern glare.

"Yeah, alright," Minato sighed, motioning for the elevator attendant to get off him so he could stand.

"Oh, must I leave already?" Elizabeth pouted.

"Afraid so," he nodded, leading her towards the exit. He opened the door for her to go, but just as she stepped out he started, "Listen, about today-"

Elizabeth turned around and put a finger to his lips to shush the boy, "Please wait. I realize that this day has not gone quite the way you had intended, but rest assured that I did enjoy myself all the same."

She leaned up and kissed his cheek.

Settling down her heels again, Elizabeth smiled warmly and said, "Thank you for a wonderful time."

Minato nodded, his face now slightly flushed. Yukari and Fuuka quickly flashed red as Junpei bit back a snicker.

"N-no problem. But I still think I should make it up to you."

Elizabeth gave him a bemused look and paused for a second before saying, "Oh, very well. Then you must promise, that on our next outing, you will take me to whatever location I request of you."

"Don't I always?" Minato smirked.

"Promise me," Elizabeth repeated a little more seriously, grabbing onto his hands.

"Okay, I promise," the young man nodded.

Elizabeth let out a small laugh and clapped her hands together victoriously, "Oh, excellent! Then I would like to formally request that you escort me to the part of the city known as Shirakawa Boulevard."

"…" Minato's jaw dropped.

Silence, then-

"WHAT THE HELL?!" Yukari cried out. Junpei quickly clamped a hand over his mouth and wrapped his free arm around his stomach to keep his sides from splitting.

"W-what?" Minato asked. Please God, let him have misheard that.

"Specifically, I would like you to take me to one of the inns situated in that area."

Shit.

"…What?" Minato repeated in a small voice. Junpei bit into the edge of his finger to try to not go into full-blown hysterics.

"Is there a problem with my request?" Elizabeth asked innocently.

"N-no, um-"

"YES THERE IS!" Yukari yelled. What the hell did this girl think she was doing, asking for that sort of thing in full view of everyone else?!

"W-where, no, uh, how did you even hear about that?" Minato asked quickly.

"I learned about it in conversation with some of the women I played with earlier," Elizabeth smiled. "They told me that place was where two people could go once their relationship had advanced to a certain level. I'm rather curious as to what sort of place would require such condition."

Minato felt everyone turn to gape at him and dared not turn around.

"Um," He replied dumbly.

"Has _our_ relationship not yet reached that point?" Everyone else leaned in a bit closer to hear his answer.

"Uh…"

"…Do you mean to renege on your promise?" Elizabeth asked sadly.

"N-no!"

"Arisato…" Mitsuru said warningly.

Minato whipped his head around quickly before turning back to Elizabeth, "I mean, um, we'll talk about this okay?"

"Alright," Elizabeth replied with a small pout. It wasn't a complete concession to her request, but it was enough. For now.

"I'll see you later?" He asked, calming down a bit.

"Until later then," She nodded.

"Good night, Elizabeth," Minato leaned down and kissed her again, a bit longer than before, which she returned eagerly.

"Good night, my Darling Minato," Elizabeth replied as the two broke apart.

Minato and her shared one last smile as the door closed and he paused to give himself a little bit of time to let the moment sink in. One second, then three, then six. Alright, that was probably enough. Quickly taking a deep breath, Minato turned to face the other members of SEES, who were staring at him intently.

_Sniff._

Everyone turned to see Junpei wiping his eyes with his sleeve.

Yukari leaned back incredulously, "J-junpei, are you-"

"I'm not crying! What the hell makes you think that?!" Junpei shot back, right before another sniffle.

There was a terse pause hanging in the room before Yukari heaved a long sigh.

"…Whatever. I'm going to bed."

With one final glower directed at Minato, she turned around and walked up the stairs, perfectly ready to just fall onto her bed and let this day be over.

"Yes," Mitsuru nodded and turned to Fuuka, "Yamagishi, I think it would be best if we don't go to Tartarus tonight."

"A-alright, Senpai," the younger girl replied, her ears still burning a bit from what she'd just seen. "I'll go tell Ken-kun."

Both of the girls stood and headed up to the third floor as well.

Akihiko sighed mentally, _'Oh thank God, finally.' _

Getting out of his seat and stretching his limbs out slightly, he gave his two juniors a small nod before leaving them to their own devices.

When he had finally gone and it was only the two of them left on the floor, Minato took a seat in the chair Yukari was in before and let out a sigh of his own.

After giving his buddy a second to himself, Junpei turned to Minato and smirked.

"Well you certainly had a hell of a day, huh Man?"

"Shut up." Minato buried his head in his hands, rubbing his aching skull with the tips of his fingers.

"Hey, hey, just callin' it how I see it," Junpei said. "'Sides, that stuff's all done with now, right? I think ya can relax a bit."

Lifting his head up, Minato nodded reluctantly, "Yeah, I guess you're right."

"So what now? Just gonna head on to bed, too?"

"Yeah, I guess you could say that," Minato smirked.

Getting up from his seat, he walked back over to the dorm's entrance and swung open the door.

"Hello again, Darling. It is now 'later,' yes?" Elizabeth greeted, still standing in the same spot she was in not five minutes ago.

Minato gave a wide smile and nodded, taking the girl's hand back into the dorm. She wrapped an arm around his and the pair made their way towards the stairs. Before reaching the first step, though, Minato stopped.

"'Night, Junpei," The bluenette turned his head to give his stunned friend a sly wink.

"Good night, Mr. Junpei," Elizabeth said, giving him a small wave before they started up towards the next floor.

"..."

'Why the hell didn't I ever think a' that?' The goateed young man could only shake his head in amazement, chuckling to himself quietly as he pulled a paperback book from his bag and returned to his comics.

The pair dashed up the stairs quickly as they could together, though Minato was still being careful that they not make too much noise just in case anybody would come looking. After another few long seconds, the pair reached the end of the hall and the door to Minato's room. The two couldn't help to nudge at each other eagerly as he reached for his key. Finally getting the lock undone, he swung the door open and the pair began to hurry into the room when Minato stopped in his tracks as he caught sight of Aigis.

"Hello, Minato-san," the robot girl said, staring at him from his bed, specifically sitting in wait on top of his covers. "I have returned."

Minato said nothing and just returned the stare, mostly because his face had frozen in utter horror as the single worst possible development appeared before him. His mind, however, was still working well enough to let a single thought echo through the now near barren void that was his head.

"Minato-san, who is that person next to you?" Aegis asked, her face suddenly furrowing into a suspicious glare as she noticed Elizabeth standing next to him, still happily holding on to his arm.

'…_Shit.'_

_Fin_

* * *

_Author's Endnote: Well, that's all folks. Well, mostly anyways; I have a few afterthoughts for maybe an epilogue/extra chapter sort of thing, but I'd be okay leaving this story as it is. I'm torn between following up on that and the new P4 fic I'm working on. Leave a review if ya got an opinion and depending on the response I'll see which one to tackle next._

_To all the folks that read this little fic all the way to the end, thanks. To those that liked it on top of that, thanks some more. Hopefully I'll see some of y'all in my next story. For now though, this is goodbye._


End file.
